That .380 article got me thinking...

The Bersa .380 is a very good gun. I have found nothing irritating about it yet. The sights are a bit tiny if you are used to a bigger gun, but they are still very nice. The finish is subject to dings and nicks, but nothing terrible. It would be a great gun at twice its price, but at the current cost, it's a steal.

FWIW, I would caution against carrying this gun in your pocket, as I have found it easily subject to accumulating gunk in the slide rails and failing to return to battery. This should be considered a holster only carry.

don't live in commie states if lived in a non-free state, i'd be doing everything i could to move to a free state. but that's just me.

btw, you're not the only atheist conservative i am as well

Its by far the softest shooting blowback .380 I've ever had experience with. The recoil spring is very light as well, making it very easy to rack, unlike most of the other blowbacks on the market. Pretty accurate, too.

Bersa .380....Love it.

Got mine yesterday and shot it today. I am sure that I could rely on this weapon in a self defense situation. See that .380 thread for photos of the new gun. Bought it as "used" but I swear the barrel looked as though nothing had ever been thru it. Appears to be a real Quality piece.

I bought my Bersa Series 95 in 1998 from Wally World for $188. I liked it so much I had a local gunsmith "dehorn" it, and then sent it to W.E Birdsong for his "Black T" finish. I considered sending it to Trijicon to have their night sights installed, but ended up getting Crimson Trace laser grips for it...

The bad news? I'm the owner of possibly the most expensive Bersa Series 95 in the world. The good news? It goes bang every time I pull the trigger, and is much more accurate than I am. It shoots my 90gr HP/XTP and GDHP loads at 1050 fps, and my 95gr LRN plinker loads at 800 fps, with no fuss and no muss. AA #2 is my go-to powder for these loads.

At night it sleeps next to my bed with one in the chamber, the nine round magazine installed, and an extra seven round mag available. I'm confident it can do the SD job, without worrying about the bullets penetrating multiple walls.

Enjoy your Bersa!

The Bersa is the 2nd best but probably the most reliable shooting 380 out there. My little Sig 238 is a little softer shooting (no kidding) but the Bersa is a great pistol. It does NOTHING out of the ordinary and will overall probably serve you for the money better than any 380 you can purchase.

The finish on them is a lot better than people will tell you. They are what they are, but mine is still what it was 4 years ago and that's after lots of abuse. Very durable pistols.

My friend just bought one

Cons:

I'm not a fan of the disconnect-type safety. When switched off, you have to rely on a spring to put the disconnector back on track to fire. There's also an annoying mag safety, but that is easy to remove.

Ridiculous amount of trigger curve. It's not a real issue, since the trigger pull is so light and smooth, but it's still annoying to me.

The finish is kinda rough. It's not so much a matte/blasted finish as kinda second rate, IMO.

The trigger bar is external, BTW. Make sure to take a good look at the RIGHT side of the gun, which Bersa will never show a picture of on their website. It's kinda ugly, the first time you notice it.

The SOUNDS the gun makes while dry-firing are kinda tinny and holllow-sounding.

Pro's:
Great ergonomics.

Slide moves "like it's on rails," pardon the pun. It just feels very precise and very impressive.

The DA pull is excellent. I wouldn't mind a DAO version. The SA pull is also very good.

Great 3 dot sights. Not too small, not too big.

The SOUND while dry-firing, even though tinny, is kinda neat. There's a lot of mechanical clicks and whatnot going on.

Other: really short distance between backstrap and trigger. This is a great choice for someone with small hands.

Personally, I'd rather buy any of the cheap-o eastern bloc 9x18's for the cheaper ammo. But if you have small hands or are recoil sensitive, the Bersas are really nice.

We like them a lot Come visit All your Bersa needs can be found their

http://bersachat.com

If I lived in Illinois I'd move. Oh! I did!

m2steven said:

The Bersa is the 2nd best but probably the most reliable shooting 380 out there. My little Sig 238 is a little softer shooting (no kidding) but the Bersa is a great pistol. It does NOTHING out of the ordinary and will overall probably serve you for the money better than any 380 you can purchase.

The finish on them is a lot better than people will tell you. They are what they are, but mine is still what it was 4 years ago and that's after lots of abuse. Very durable pistols.

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Come on now ....I've heard the Bersa is the best .380 on this forum more than I can stand. It's getting OLD!

The Bersa will never be the best .380 as long as Beretta, Sig & CZ make .380s!

I looked over/considered the Bersa years back when I bought the Beretta 84 and there's no comparison in fit and finish/quality of construction. The Beretta is better, by a mile, no doubt. As well as the Sig and CZ. Now to be fair they cost quite a bit, to a lot more than the Bersa so they should be better. The Bersa is a fine gun for the money and it would be nice if the over exuberant Bersa owners would make this distinction when claiming the "it's the best ". The best of the economical .380s?....Probably.....The best .380 on the market? NO.

If someone had the cash to fund, oh let say 6000 rounds of .380, I'd put my 84's pink slip up against any Bersa, in a reliability shoot out!

I think Gloob gave the most accurate assessment of the Bersa.

I'd like my Bersa a whole lot more if ammo wasn't so $$$ (I know, reload, bla, bla, bla). I'm sitting on ~300+ rounds of .380... but I never shoot the thing. Just not a practical daily shooter in my eyes unless you hand load. My pistol just sits in my car loaded up with spear gold dots and 3 extra mags.....thats its job.

maroast said:

I'd like my Bersa a whole lot more if ammo wasn't so $$$ (I know, reload, bla, bla, bla). I'm sitting on ~300+ rounds of .380... but I never shoot the thing. Just not a practical daily shooter in my eyes unless you hand load. My pistol just sits in my car loaded up with spear gold dots and 3 extra mags.....thats its job.

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I don't see a compact gun like the Bersa as a car gun. Compact guns are more for carry.

There are a lot of better choices for car guns.

For example I have a 9mm Arcus Highpower clone as a car gun that cost $249 new which is about the same price as the Bersa and have it loaded with 15 rounds of Gold Dot +P.

The Arcus Highpower is a fine shooter at a very low price and I'm sure there are a lot of other inexpensive choices that would be better car guns than a 7 round 380.

I love my Bersa. So does everyone else that shoots it. Great gun, accurate, much easier to shoot for a day at the range than a keltec or LCP. Great customer support if you need it.

FLAvalanche said:

I love my Bersa. So does everyone else that shoots it. Great gun, accurate, much easier to shoot for a day at the range than a keltec or LCP. Great customer support if you need it.

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Apples and oranges!

Of course it's easier to shoot than an LCP or P3AT because it's much larger, but the LCP and P3AT are much, much easier to conceal.

Try sticking the Bersa in the watch pocket of your jeans.

I have both the Bersa Thunder PRO (15+1) and a Kel Tec P3AT.

The Bersa was for the wife as she has shot many of my pistols and only liked the Buckmark and .38 spl. The .380 is a great cartridge for her in that it is powerful enough to do damage with minimal recoil.

She has yet to shoot it but myself and a friend have had it at the range. She has held it along with his wife and they both love it, his wife is buying one just from holding it.

We were both suprised how well it handled, very smooth and reliable. Easy to put multiple shots on target. No jams or malfunctions of any kind.

He is a CHL instructor here in Texas and has loaned it a few women who have taken his class. They all loved it, grip is comfy, recoil is managable, and size is just right. Even with the wider grip (versus the 7+1 model) they had no complaints but then again they didnt hold the smaller one.

Very happy with every aspect of the pistol, the only complaint I have is extra mags are hard to find.

I had one and they are great guns for the money. My Bersa ate everything I threw at it.

I sold mine to my son-in-law and purchased an LCP for the lighter weight and the fact that the LCP is easier to conceal. I just put it in the holster and slip it into my front pants pocket.

If I'm going to CC a gun that heavy it's gonna be one of my bigger caliber handguns.

If you like it, go for it. From my experience, the Bersa Thunder is very reliable.

Get the all nickel finish. IMO it looks better than the two tone.

Well I had a Bersa .380, had being the operative word and it couldn't touch my Colt Pony Pocketlite for ease out use or soft shooting not to mention finish. Nor could it compare to my Kahr .380 in any way. I mean it's an good gun for it's price but the best .380 out there ........come on folks you all are beginning to sound like politicians...

BULLSI said:

Get the all nickel finish. IMO it looks better than the two tone.

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It's a nickel slide and alloy frame.

My first time on the range with mine truly impressed me. I arrived there with 100 rounds of UMC 88-gr JHP, and 50 rounds of UMC 95-gr FNEB. These were purchased in 2008, along with the gun. I also had with me about 40 rounds of cheap FMJ Blazer rounds (the old aluminum-cased ones), ten of Winchester STHP, and about ten of some other obscure JHP round. This old stuff was purchased in 1990, I think.
The Thunder digested all of this stuff without a single malfunction. I even mixed rounds in the mags, including the Blazer stuff. No misfeeds, misfires, or FTEs. I was able to, using an "informal" two-handed grip, keep all within a 6-inch radius at fifteen yards, acceptably accurate for the gun's intended purpose. The larger grip fit my hand well, better than the PPK/S I once owned, and the gun was as comfortable to shoot as any .22LR I've had. I saved just enough of the UMC rounds to keep my two mags stocked.

Free Bersa items in drawings and 10% off to members on mags custon wood grips and more .
If you own a Bersa or the American Classic 1911 you should be a member of here and

http://bersachat.com